Tucker club co-founder Richard Jones dead

OCW reader Mike Schutta alerted us that Richard Jones, one of the original 14 people to found the Tucker Automobile Club of America, passed away Aug. 24. As Schutta is a Tucker historian, we will rely on his fine words to alert readers of Mr. Jones’ passing:

I just received a note from Brian Jones that our friend Richard E. Jones passed away this morning at 1:40AM. He was at home, and his son Brian was with him as he passed away peacefully. Richard had battled… lung disease for the last two years. The Tucker community has lost a great asset and we’ve all lost a very good friend.

Richard was part of the original group of 14 people that met on July 15th, 1973, and formed the Tucker Automobile Club of America. That group consisted of Stan Gilliland and his wife Linda, Bev Ferriera and his wife Lillian, Jay Busker and his wife Eva, Curtis Foester and his wife Delona, Dave Cammack, Ray Wiysel, Fred Fetner, Joe Walker, Harry Wilson and Richard Jones.

Richard served as President of TACA from 1987 to 1989. During that period, the movie “Tucker: A Man And His Dream” was released. Richard gave hundreds of interviews. He was also present on the set of the movie, along with his good friend Russ Brownell, and they were in charge of keeping the 22 actual Tuckers on site running.

No details yet about funeral arrangements however Richard had told me he’ll be buried at the National Cemetery in Jacksonville.

Over the last few years, Richard and I had become friends and he shared a lot of his knowledge and passion for the Tucker automobile with me. I will truly miss him.
Perhaps the greatest tribute to be offered to someone such as Jones will be the 2012 Glenmoor Gathering‘s upcoming Tucker display Sept. 16, which will now feature seven Tucker automobiles, a number not seen in one place since perhaps the filming of “Tucker: A Man and his Dream.”

One thought on “Tucker club co-founder Richard Jones dead”

Jeff Bridges was too young to play Preston Tucker in the movie. Apparently, it was meant to be George C. Scott, who would have looked much more like the talented entrepreneur. Quibbling aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and thought it captured the feel of the times quite well. It also made my wife and I proud to own an independent car (Studebaker). I also note that a Studebaker ‘took one for the team’ as a circa 1950 sedan was rebuilt with Tucker body panels for the proving ground blowout and roll-over scene in the movie.